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Wednesday, 24 September 2008

Joaquin Baldwin "Sebastian's Voodoo"

Sebastian's Voodoo (2008) directed by Joaquin Baldwin is not at all in the same style as Papiroflexia featured here a week or so ago. Today's offering is a much darker piece in which a doll made out of jute awakes to discover he is on a hook above an ominous workbench. Turning to look around the doll finds a line of similarly afflicted dolls one of whom is about to be skewered by a pin. On the bench are discarded corpses. Escaping from his captor, the doll is forced to watch as another doll is to be killed. He discovers that the pin, applied to himself, has a debilitating effect on the torturer. However in order to finally rid his kin of this killer the doll must make the ultimate sacrifice. If you are squeamish about needles look away (and miss the entire film) for this absorbing drama is all about the suspense of the pin about to be plunged into helpless victims. Created with Maya and After Effects the high definition version downloaded via the link reveals extraordinary detail in the material and stitches of the dolls. Joaquin imbues a life to the coarsely stitched dolls that is remarkable given the comparative absence of facial features: an intake of breath, beating heart or sudden turn conveys such a lot of tension in this classy four minute piece. The set is a candle lit hell, with a voodoo Hannibal Hector and there is a musical score by Nick Fevola that is as professional as a big screen blockbuster, oozing menace and the percussions of the black arts. Despite my attention to the gore, the movie is actually rather moving in its depiction of heroic self-sacrifice. Follow the link to Joaquin's name and discover his extremely well written biography but, for the record, he moved from his native Paraguay to Ohio's Columbus College of Art & Design in 2002, before gravitating to obtain his masters at UCLA Animation Workshop where he remains. He is an animator of substance and promise. I am unable to resist posting one of his illustrations. Give it a click.